Or that global teams need to get to know their colleagues’ cultures. This might mean that the marketing team has to do a deep dive to understand the culture in a new country the organization is entering. They can translate that into an understanding of where cultural differences might arise with others.Īll employees across teams should attempt to understand the culture of the other person with whom they’re trying to communicate. Individuals must try to understand their own culture and how it’s conditioned them. How can managers prepare to work with people from a different culture? Here are some steps to follow for successful and positive communication: But it’s the organization that must take the lead. When up against a cultural barrier, individuals must make the effort required to communicate effectively. The good news is that it’s possible to overcome a cultural barrier in the workplace. People who are unaware of the cultural barrier may also communicate inappropriately, using unacceptable verbal and non-verbal cues, leading to even greater misunderstanding. This causes confusion and anxiety because receivers can’t act appropriately. While the receiver may grasp the individual words that make up a message, they may not comprehend its overall meaning. While trying to understand the meaning of a message, the receiver interprets it from his or her own cultural perspective. We’ve all had trouble understanding the culture of another person at some point in our lives. The meaning of cultural barriers is easy to grasp. There are cultures, for instance, where hierarchy plays an important part in society, in which a junior will hesitate before contradicting a senior. It can be caused by confusion or discomfort about how to express oneself respectfully. It can even occur between two people who belong to the same culture. With a socio-cultural barrier, the message may be understood, but a barrier exists in the receiving party’s ability to respond. For example, if a manager can communicate with a team of Chinese speakers because he can speak Mandarin, but cannot communicate with a French speaker because he cannot speak French, then it’s easy to recognize the issue.įor instance, a manager may not understand how to process a request from a colleague if he doesn’t know how his colleague communicates. Understanding which type is present will reveal what specific barriers to communication to solve. Cross-cultural communication barriers occur at the level of the individual. While handling examples of cultural barriers to communication, it’s important to determine if the issue is a socio-cultural one or a cross-cultural one.Ī socio-cultural barrier occurs at the level of the group or social group. And communication is often the first problem to arise as a result. While we all have a lot in common, there is also much that separates us. ![]() ![]() Or even if they’re aware of the differences, dealing with them sensitively is difficult for them. Some people assume all cultures are more similar than they actually are. When there’s work to be done when we get there, it’s even harder. Going from one country, city or town to another can be difficult. ![]() How Cultural Barriers Can Hold Back An Organization.Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of cultural barriers. Cross-cultural communication barriers are among the most important hurdles to overcome in a global marketplace. But if the team doesn’t all speak the same language-literally-it will face one of the most common examples of cultural barrier. Managers already know that communication is the key to any great business. It can cause outright conflict, but more often, it creates stress in the workplace.Īs the world becomes smaller and the mobility of employees is on the rise, culture shock or cultural barrier is a problem more of us are facing every day. A cultural barrier is an issue arising from a misunderstanding of meaning, caused by cultural differences between sender and receiver. Tanu was dealing with a cultural barrier. But managing 20 people she’d never met who were scattered all over the world was a challenge. When she joined work, she tried her best to get to know her new team. The organization didn’t waste any time onboarding her virtually. Digital marketer Tanu was on her way from India to a new job in Singapore when the pandemic shut down travel between the two countries.
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